You Can Tell Me
by The Musing Airhead
Summary: FE8: They had troubles before the war. But with it here now, will their problems worsen? *2 OCs: Main Characters* They meet up with the actual characters of the game and then each other. Action, friendship, hurt/ comfort, and pretty much everything else. Reviews/feedback much appreciated!
1. OC 1 Chapter 1

This chapter is a little start for my first OC.

**Disclaimer**: Anything from here, that you recognize from the game, is the stuff that I don't own. That belongs to Nintento and Intelligent Systems.

Enjoy!

. . .

She reached the top of the hill. She had been walking for a few days and wanted to find a decent place to rest. When she scouted around, she saw a small village at the foot of the rise. She was about to keep walking off, not wanting to disturb the peaceful atmosphere, but the aches in her legs, the tire of her body, and the rumble of her stomach made her change her mind.

She passed through the gate of the village cautiously. Nobody seemed to be bothered by her presence or even seemed to notice her, which she was fine with. She saw a bench that was facing a fountain, and decided to sit there and watch the small children play. As she was watching them, she couldn't help but think that where she had come from, she was the only kid in a grown-up environment. A splash was heard and she was brought back into reality. When she looked, she saw that one of the kids fell into the fountain and the others gathered around to help the little boy out. As soon as he got out, the others jumped in and out to make sure that he wasn't the only one wet. A woman finally shooed them away and they started to laugh with each other and ran.

She started laughing after seeing this, but then her laughs turned into sobs. This went on for a while until she was felt a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" She was afraid to see who the person was, so she grabbed her bag and ran out the gates.

Once she reached the top of the hill, she dropped herself into a heap on the ground. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I-I couldn't do anything… I couldn't… I wanted to… to stop it…"

As few moments past, she heard footsteps coming her way. She wiped the tears from her face, anxiously, and was pushing her back as close as she could to the tree. When the footsteps stopped, she hesitated before looking up and saw a man looking back down at her. He smiled and stuck his hand out for her to grab. Everything then faded to black in her eyes.

* * *

><p><em>She tried to look around through her tears. There was a man holding onto her shirt collar yelling at her to stop crying, but she didn't. She couldn't. He tried putting her on a horse, but she wouldn't comply. This was upsetting him, so finally he drew his hand back and he slapped her hard enough to knock her out.<em>

_She woke up to find herself on a horse, galloping its way, through the dark, to a large camp. As it came to a stop, she was hulled over a person's shoulder. She couldn't see much because the side of her face was swollen, but she could tell that she was going through rooms and hallways. The air was filled with the sent of liquor and an overpowering, musky smell. There were men talking and laughing. It all faded, though, when they went into a room and a door was shut. She was dropped onto the floor facing the man sitting at a desk. Quickly, she got onto her feet._

_"What's this?" the man in front of her grumbled._

_"Uh… a girl th-that we found at the last v-village, sir."_

_"So why is she here?"_

_"I, uh… She… Um, well… She was singin' and you said that we could u-use a song bird here…" The man at the desk put his hand up to silence the man talking. He leaned over his desk to face her. "What's your name, girl?" She noticed that his left eye, which he squinted, was clouded and blind._

_A moment had passed after the man asked the question, and by the time, the other man, who was standing beside her, gave a quick kick to her calf. She winced thinking that more hits were coming._

_"I'm-I'm… My name is…" She was stuttering as much as the man beside her had been._

_He was losing his patients. "Well, out with it girl!" She flinched._

_She didn't want to tell him her name but she had to say something quick. "My name is Ja-uh… Mai."_

_With his good eye, the man was studying her. "How old are you, girl?" Even after she told him the name, he still didn't use it._

_"…Ten…"_

_He leaned back into his chair and directed his voice to the other man, while still keeping his sight on her. "Give Mai a small room."_

_"Like the closet?"_

_"No, you scum. Did I say the closet?"_

_"N-no s-sir! I'll find a room for her."_

"_Go, you're wasting my time. The next time something like this happens, I'm going to give her your job and you and I are going' to have matching eyes sets. Now leave!" They quickly shuffled out of the room and she followed when he began walking._

_They reached a dark room where he pushed her in, but before she could fall, he grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. Then, in an all too familiar form, he took his hand and pulled it back. She knew what was coming and closed her eyes as tight as she could._

_Nothing came. She opened her eyes and found herself in a never ending white space. She remembered that that was how all the bad things started, but she couldn't remember anything before that. She shook her head. Looking around, her eyes stopped on two things that weren't that far away._

_She began walking in the direction to where the figures were at. She got close enough to see that the two forms were people chatting, but they were too blurry for her to depict who they were._

_As she got closer, she noticed that the two were a man and a woman. Something in her head told her that they were there for her, she started running towards them. She couldn't help but cry. She was so overjoyed._

_Getting only a few feet close them, she was stopped by an invisible wall. They didn't noticed her though."Uh… Are you…"_

_"It was no trouble at-" The woman cut herself off at mid-sentence and looked at hear. "Oh look. She's saying something in her sleep."_

_"But I'm not asleep…"_

_The man standing next to the woman replied, "What is she trying to say? Poor girl, I wish she would wake up soon… She seemed to have been through a lot." She remembered hearing that voice before._

_Time had passed until the woman finally piped up again. "Well, I'll leave you alone to watch over her now."_

_"Okay, good-bye then. And thank you for the help."_

_"Anytime." With that, the woman walked away, becoming a smudge that gradually disappeared._

_After the woman left, the man came closer to her and patted her head. Even when he was close she still couldn't see his face. He retrieved his hand and looked away. She started to back away from him until her stomach rumbled and she moaned because of the pain. She wondered what he was going to do, but he looked at her and then walked the other way. "W-wait…" She whispered, reaching for him. "WAIT!"_

_The man was gone too. She shook her head and began to walk back in the direction from where she came, going on through the endless white nothing. This went on for a while, until she heard footsteps coming up behind her. She stopped, and so did the footsteps. She forbade herself to turn around and look. After a minute passed and she continued to walking._

_She was curious as to who it was and turned around. Whoever it was wasn't longer there anymore. "I should've at least seen who it was."_

_She was about to walk in the same direction again, but then stopped when she saw an overpowering light. She twisted around but had to put her hand up to shade her eyes. When her vision somewhat adjusted, she saw an arrow coming straight at her. Her reflexes were slow because she barely had time to see it coming. The arrow stopped right in front of her, just an arm's reach away._

_She got closer to it and held her hand out. And, as if on cue, it dropped into her palm. She studied it for some time, and then looked at the area from where it came. She saw a clear sight of an archer, no, a sniper. He was the clearest thing there. And he had a very stern look in his face and he looked older than her, probably by a few years. He had tan, almost silver, colored hair and wore a long pale blue jacket. "Who are you?" she asked, but in answer, he just gave a smirk._

_He put another arrow in the large bow he had, pulled back and shot it right at her. She thought that it was going to stop like the first one did, but it didn't stop and was going right at her chest. It reached her heart…_

* * *

><p>She opened her eyes and shot up. She felt around her torso to make sure there wasn't any puncture wounds and let out a sigh of relief once she didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. "Oh great, you're finally up," She jumped when she heard the voice. She turned her head to see who it was and saw a man with a platter of food. He was the same man from before. "When I saw you crying on the bench, I went to see if you were alright, but you ran away. I was concerned so I followed you to the top of the hill and you went unconscious. And I was getting a little worried that you weren't going to wake up because you've been asleep for the whole day."<p>

She looked around as he continued talking. "So what do people call you?"

"Huh?" She looked back at him.

"What's your name?"

"I'm…" she wanted to say her real name, to start over, but went against it and gave the name she had been using. She looked away before saying it. "It's Mai." She jumped off the bed she was on and began walking to the door, but looked down and saw the she was missing her satchel and was in completely in different clothes. She began feeling panicky. "Wha-where's my bag?" she asked. "And my clothes?"

"The bag? It's on the chair right there." He pointed at the chair beside the bed. It seemed untouched. "And your clothes are drying."

There were so many more questions going through her head, and he probably could see this in her face expression. He let out a sigh as he was getting ready to tell everything that happened. "Well, after you went cold, I brought you back. A neighbor of mine saw and asked to help. I said sure and left to prepare a room for you. I guess you were bathed, your wounds were cleaned up, and your clothes were taken…" He stopped talking as soon as he saw Mai get red and saw that she bore an uncomfortable expression. "Wait, wait, wait. My neighbor, she's a woman, she cleaned you up. Okay? I wasn't around when this was happening. You were in at her house being cleaned and whatever. Like I said, I was in here preparing a room for you." When he said this, Mai relaxed a bit.

She slung her bag over her back and looked back at him. "Thank you for what you and your neighbor did for me. I should be going now so I won't be more of a bother to you. And I'll get my clothes too."

"Well, your clothes are still drying and you're no trouble, so you can still stay here. Oh and just to let you know, when you were sleeping you were holding onto your stomach, so I'm guessing that you're really hunger. You don't look like you've eaten in a while."

She began eyeing the platter that he held. "Well, I…"

"It's fine, really. I actually got this food for you."

"Oh… Um… Okay." She sat back on to the bed and started eating at the food hastily.

As her pace was slowing down, he asked, "How old are you?"

"Just fourteen. How old are you? …Wait, you don't need to answer-"

He interrupted her with a chuckle. "It's fine. I'm thirty-eight. That's old enough to be father." He saw the discomfort in her eyes and cleared his throat. "So, uh, was the food good?" He asked, hoping to change the subject.

She just nodded her head slowly. And finally, she looked back at him. "What's _your_ name?"

"I didn't tell you, did I? My name is Cyrez. I guess I'm kind of like the guardian for this hamlet in Carcino. And I'm also the owner of a store."

"What kind of store?" He looked away and gave a shrug to answer her question.

"Hey. I have some questions for you now."

"What is it?" She looked at him curiously.

"Why were you just wandering off into nowhere, by yourself? Aren't your parents worried about you? Where do you live? Wh-…" He stopped himself before he could ask any more questions. He wanted to hear her response. He could tell that she was feeling uneasy, but he wanted to know.

She couldn't answer him. She didn't want to tell him. She had to come up with something quick. "Well, uh, um… you see, I… I…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: This would be the beginnings of my first fanfic. What do you think? Reviews and feedback appreciated!

And the next chapter is about the other OC.


	2. OC 2 Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: The only things that I own are the unfamiliar characters and the stuff that you don't recognize.

Enjoy.

. . .

"Hurry now, Blair. What's taking you so long?"

She woke up to her father's voice calling her, acknowledging that his voice was a little more stern than usual. The night before, Blair had decide that she wanted to tell her father that she wanted to start using the ax, and because of that, she had been up all night stressing about it.

When she was younger, her father would teach her how to use the sword. They would have practice spars, which she enjoyed for most of the part, but she didn't like how close you had to be in order to land a blow on the other person. She thought it felt so confined to be right in front of the person's face, in this case, her father's.

Sometime after, Blair had seen her father practice with the axe and saw that it was able to be thrown at the target, depending on which kind. After seeing him, she wanted to experiment that with the sword. So on one occasion, she had gotten frustrated with him landing all the little strikes on to her, she decided to try it right there.

When there was a good enough distance between them, she would tilt the sword behind her and bring it back with force, letting it escape her hands. Her father was plenty fast so he would dodge it, but when both looked to see where it had gone, it would be laying on the sand in the exact spot where he was standing. She realized that it was too reckless, and after that, her father spent a few days teaching her the importance of grip. She would act like she was paying attention, but she would only be thinking of how that mishap was just her trying to see if the it was possible to throw a sword like an axe.

Blair didn't like knowing that most swords only had one distant range, so she decided that the weapon she would want to start using would be the axe. Not only was it able to be used to attack at two ranges, but she constantly felt that she needed to use a weapon her father used. And since she didn't like the sword, the second weapon her father wielded was an axe. She thought that it was perfectly made arrangement for her. So when she was by herself, she would practice and train with the axe.

And ever since then, she kept it to herself and never said a thing until she felt like the right time. Now was the time she felt like telling him. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard him call her name again. She hollered back in a hurry. "Coming!"

She ran to him as fast as she could, getting ready to ask the question that was burning in her brain, and stopped suddenly once she saw him. He had been waiting and she knew this because he was tapping is foot. He had a rucksack over one shoulder and in his free hand he was holding a covered steel ax. In the side of his belt, he had a newly sharpened blade. "I forgot you had to leave today," she didn't hide her disappointment from him.

"Well, Blair…" he said, but couldn't say anything more. He knew how she felt. Silence stayed in the air with them until he thought of something that might cheer her up. "Well, this time I'll only be gone for three month. That's a lot shorter than the other times."

"You said that last time and you ended up being gone for six months instead," she didn't even look at him when she said this.

He gave what she said some thought and much time elapsed. "Okay, so how about when I get back, we can do some more training. How about it? We haven't done that in a while."

Blair's expression brightened. She knew that this was her moment to tell him. "Well, actually dad, I-" she was then cut off by a man who was huffing at their door step. He was one of her father's fellow mercenaries. He must have been running a large distance because he was still gasping even after a while. Then finally, he started. "Rh-Rhodes… Whew… Ha… Rhode… the band is… leaving…" all the panting had confused Blair of what he was trying to say, but her father understood fully.

"I'll be there, just go on ahead," the man nodded as soon as he saw Blair. He turned back to the direction from where he came and, unenthusiastically, he started jogging back. Her father turned back at Blair. She was looking at the floor now. "What were you about to say earlier?"

She still didn't bring her eyes to meet his when she answered. "It was nothing."

He turned his head around to see how far the other man had gone. And with his head turned from her, he started to talk again. "Well, as you saw, I have to be going now. If you have any problems, then tell Thomas and Angeles. They will check on you every now and then, to make sure you're okay." Angeles and Thomas were long time family friends, even before she was born. "And just in case you should need it, the money is… you know where that is. I'll hopefully send-" he was cut off by her arms embracing him. He looked down and smiled gently. With his free hand, he patted her back. She hid her face into his shirt because she didn't want him to see her tears. He heard her muffle something to him. "Huh?"

She let go and looked up at him. "Be safe."

And just out of habit, he answered her. "I will." he bent down and kissed her forehead. As he went back up, he kept his eyes on her face, in deep thought. He broke the silence to tell Blair what he was thinking. "You look just like your mother." He said it with a proud smile and she tried to mimic it.

They said nothing after that, but instead, he backed out of the doorway and waved good-bye. As he was jogging his way to the camp, she ran out the door just in time to see him before he disappeared behind a corner.

She stood there for a while, looking into the distance, and then finally she whispered out to him. "Good-bye… Daddy…" She went inside the house, locked the door and just stared at the wall where his ax used to be.

_Well that chance is lost._

She hid herself deep into in a closet, which was the closest room to her, and started thinking about what he had said. _"You look just like you mother."_

She had only seen a faded painting of her mother when she was younger and that was enough for Blair to know where her looks came from. But she always felt guilty when the grownups would say that they wish she was there because she was the reason why her mother was dead. If her mother hadn't given birth to her, then she would still be alive. But even then, her absence wasn't really felt to Blair.

* * *

><p><em>Blair was four when her father first told her about her mother, or when she asked. It was late at night, her father had just come back from an assignment the day before and so he was exhausted. Blair, on the other hand, even though tired, was blissful. She had been taken care of by Thomas and Angeles for months while he was gone and they were finally united with each other.<em>

_His head was leaned back while he was sitting in a cushioned chair. Blair was playing with a gift that he had gotten her, and then something had popped into her head. She stopped what she was doing then turned to him. "Daddy?"_

_He was falling asleep, but hearing his little girl speak woke him up. He answered her with his eyes still closed. "Hm?"_

_She hesitated to ask the question but still she asked it. "What was mommy like?" As soon as he heard this, his eyes opened immediately and he looked at Blair. She jumped at this movement because she didn't know if he was upset with her for asking. "Um, never mind…" she quickly looked away. He couldn't help but smile at seeing her reaction._

_"Come here and I'll tell you," he said as he patted his lap. He noticed that this was the first time she asked about her mother. She cheerfully placed herself onto his knee. "What do you want to know?"_

_"How did you meet?"_

_He thought about it for a while began. "Well, first of all, your mother was on the process of becoming a very famous dancer. And your daddy, I, had just become a mercenary… A mere mercenary-"_

_She cut him off. "Like you are now?"_

_He laughed out loud at hearing that. "Something like that… Well, I went to a gathering with some workers and your mother was going to be there too, to entertain…" Since it was late at night, Blair was getting groggy. He continued to talk, and then, without any of them becoming aware of it, she fell asleep._

_She woke up in time to hear the last part of the story. "Then, we found each other again-"_

_She was puzzled. "Did you get lost?"_

_He looked at her with the same confused look she was giving. "Weren't you listening to me?" He knew that she fell asleep earlier but kept on._

_"Yes, I was. I'm just making sure you remember… for sure," Her eye lids began falling again._

_"Okay, well just so we both can remember, for sure, my father had passed and I went to visit the rest of my family. I left your mother but I told her that I would be coming back for her after I checked on them. When I came back, though, she was missing. I did everything I could to find her…"_

_He looked at Blair and saw that she was now awake, her eyes glassy with tears. She did what she could to hold the tears in her eyes when she talked. "And... y-you found mommy… right?"_

_"Yes… I found her a month later while I was on another mission," he said as he wiped away the water from her eyes. "She had been taken by some thugs, but nothing happened to her because she was able to run away from them to a village. We were so happy to see each other that we both decided to moved back here to Jehanna and live our lives together." But before continuing, he became silent, thinking over what had happened._

_Blair looked at him and tugged on his shirt. "And?"_

_He let out a long sigh and resumed. "After moving, we were expecting a baby. You. We were so happy… But then, when your mother was giving birth, she was having… difficulties… It took long hours before you were finally born. You were the most beautiful baby that all of Magvel had ever seen. You got your mother's same hair color… What does Angeles call it?"_

_"Coral pink! She told me."_

_"Ha, Angeles, that odd woman… Oh, don't say anything about that to her. She will scold my ear off for it." He gave her a playful wink._

_"And I got your eyes!" She was grinning wide now. Both of their eyes were an olivine color, something very different from everyone in the area._

_"Yes, you have my eyes…" he became quiet again. "The last thing we did with each other before she left us was that we named you. You were named Blair because your mother wanted to name you after her teacher. But you know the last thing she said to you?" Blair shook her head and keenly looked at him, waiting for him to answer. "She said 'I love you.'" he kissed her forehead then carried her to her bed and tucked her in._

_"Good night, honey…" She dozed off immediately, but before she was asleep completely, she heard him say, "Blair… You look just like your mother… Blair. Blair. Bl-"_

* * *

><p>"-air. Where are you?" Blair woke up and looking around. She was in a pitch black area. She heard her name being called again.<p>

She stood up and when she took a step, her face was smacked into a wall. With one hand she held her nose, for it took the most damage, and using her other hand she felt around. Her hand reached the door knob and turned it. As her eyes were adjusting, she saw that she was still in her home.

She heard her name being called again. She looked around the corner and found Angeles and Thomas waiting with a large serving bowl. She came out from the corner and Angeles spoke up. "Oh, Blair… What took you so long?" Angeles sounded relieved but still had a worried tone in her voice.

"It was dark and I didn't know how to get out of the room."

"Okay... Well, we were wondering if we could all have dinner here, together. We were thinking that since your father left for work, you could use some company."

Blair didn't realize it yet, but she was famished. "Yes! What are we going to eat?" she asked, looking at the bowl.

"Your favorite!" Angeles showed her what was in the dish.

It had been two weeks since her father left for the mission. Thomas and Angeles watched over her like they her father said they would. Routinely, Angeles would make food for all of them, and a couple of times they'd have picnics at their usual empty field where she and her father would train. They'd talk and Blair couldn't help but think how funny it was that Angeles was a very talkative woman and Thomas was a quiet man; how the opposites attracted.

Thomas only would talk when he needed to, so when he asked a particular question, Blair was shocked. "Are you fond of the sword?" Blair then knew something off when he asked this.

Sometimes when the two of them, her father and herself, would have picnics with Thomas and Angeles, he would squeeze in some time to teach her. Thomas always seemed to show a loathsome attitude towards it and Angeles just quietly watched. The both of them showed no interest in it at all. So why would they bring it up now?

"I don't think I know what you're trying to ask…" Angeles looked confused also.

"Do you like using the sword? Wait… before you answer, I think we should go to the field tomorrow. I want to see how you handle the others first." Blair was still confused, but Angeles smiled.

* * *

><p>The next day, Blair noticed that Thomas had brought three dull weapons, a sword, a lance, and an axe. He then told her that he wanted to see what skills she had been taught with the sword. She showed the moves she learned, while the two watched. As she was about to strike again, Thomas stopped her by taking the sword out of her hand. Your movements are too stiff." He stated, and he handed her the lance. "Now try using this."<p>

As she was holding it, she kept moving her hands to find a better grasp, which didn't work. "It… this feels… I don't know how to explain it… but, to me, it feels unnatural..."

"You'll never know unless you try. Now try to jab like this." He made a motion for her to copy.

She took a deep breath then got into a ready stance. As soon as she lifted her left leg, getting ready to strike and the lance got stuck into the ground, causing her to lose grip and she face planted. She was spitting out the mouthful of sand as she used her hands and knees to get off of the ground. "Now that hurt…"

Thomas let out a huge sigh. "Well, maybe it's not for you… even at fifteen, you're still pretty short, so it'll probably keep snagging the ground before you can hit anything. I think it's time to leave-"

"Wait!" she interrupted. "Uh, well, I was wondering if I could try the… axe now…" Blair had been waiting for it all day. Thomas could see the eagerness in her eyes.

"I don't know, Blair. You seemed to give up pretty fast on the lance." he and Angeles both could see a cringe of disappointment come across her face.

She answered back him in a way that lacked respect. "You let me…" She let the words sink in before she closed her mouth. Thomas didn't take this offensive, but instead gave her a questioned look. He knew that she really wanted to use the axe, she couldn't stop talking about it after he brought it. Blair wasn't going to let this chance pass again, so with determination ever present in her voice, she answered. "I want to use the axe."

Thomas gave a look to Angeles, who smiled, and he looked back at Blair. "Is that so?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: So what do you think about this other OC? And so that none of you get confused, the chapters will start alternating between the two OCs.

Reviews and feedback appreciated!


	3. Jade Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Fire Emblem and I never will.

Enjoy.

. . .

"I should have at least told them my real name in the beginning, and then I wouldn't have to be going through this right now," she was nearly in tears as she talked to herself.

A few days ago when she turned nineteen, Cyrez had told her that since the town's population was growing in size, he needed someone to help him with protecting the village. He asked, in a very flamboyant manner, if she would be a defender beside him for the village. She knew what it meant, not leaving the village and risking her life for everyone. But even knowing that, she blissfully agreed. It wasn't as bad as it sounded though because nothing really happened there.

But something had been pounding in her chest for a whole week. It was guilt.

_They don't really even know me_, she thought. _I need to tell them._

* * *

><p>She gathered all her poise before approaching Cyrez he was reading some old papers him. She approached close enough for him to nod in recognition of her but he still kept his eyes on the papers. "Cyrez?"<p>

"Hm?"

She hesitated a bit before continuing. "Uh, do you remember what I told you, when you asked me those questions… When I first got here?"

Still looking over what was written, he answered. "Nope. Can't say that I remember. What about it?"

She had to admit that she didn't remember either. "Well, if my answers do pop into your head, I just want to tell you… I lied about them…"

"Okay. Good," he then began snickered to himself after he read a little piece of what was on the paper.

She looked at him bewildered. She now knew that he wasn't paying attention. "What? Are you serious?" she asked, and he still didn't look up. She stomped her foot onto the floor until Cyrez jumped a bit. He gave her a confused look, which frustrated her some more. "I'm trying to tell you something important and all you're doing is looking at some stupid papers," she disclosed.

"_These_ aren't stupid," he said this calmly and was waving the papers at her. "These are the papers we used when I taught you how to read and write. That was a long year. Heh heh. That was fun, though, wasn't it? Now what are you trying to tell me?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, getting ready to confess all over again. "The answers I gave you, to the questions you asked when we first talked, were… lies…" Jade didn't make any more eye contact.

"Lies? Mai, what are you talking about?"

"I don't even remember what I said, but I do remember that whatever it was, they weren't the truth. I just... I just…" she shook her head. "My name's not Mai either…"

He narrowed his eyes at her and raised an eyebrow. "…What is it then?"

She didn't waver when answering him this time. "Jade. That was always my name." She kept her eyes at the floor. "I didn't think that I could trust anybody… But that was because I didn't know…"

Before he could say a word, there was a loud and fast knocked on the door. Cyrez hurried off his chair and opened the door quickly. Nobody in the village would knock like that, and when he opened it, he saw a fellow villager with a panicky look on his face. "What's going on?" Cyrez was the person to tell when something important happened.

"Cyrez? You seem upset," Cyrez just stared back at the villager. With a more stern voice, he asked again, "What's going on?"

The villager then started to panic again. "Grado had invaded Renias and King Fado was murdered. War has been declared!"

"War? How could this be? There was always a strong bond between those two countries. Why now? Will they reach Carcino… Or even here?"

"I don't know, but they say Gradians are spreading fast. I heard that they already moving toward Frelia, trying to destroy their stone."

"That's too close. They're probably over there at this moment. When did you hear this?... Never mind that. Just tell the other villagers to be prepared for anything, just in case something happens. I'll be out, just go." When the man left, Cyrez began talking to himself. "How could I not know this? I should have been one of the first to know…" He turned back to Jade. "Go to your room. I don't have any more time for this."

"I'm nineteen. I don't need to be ordered around anymore."

"You will always have to do as I tell you. I've taken care and provided for you. I even taught you everything you know. So you are to still listen to my rules," he ordered.

She didn't say anything. Instead, she turned around and headed for her bedroom. As she was doing it she heard the front door slam. She did the same once she reached her room. She broke down in tears. "Out of all the times I could have told him, I just had to talk when war is starting! ...War?" she stopped her sobbing and looked around the room. "They don't need anyone like me here... Maybe I can make it up to Cyrez if I…" She got up and began gathering her things. She reached for her old satchel to begin packing, but then when she picked it up, she felt heard something drop. Looking down, she saw an old talisman.

Cyrez had owned a secret shop and taught her about the rare items that they obtained and sold. Since this was the case, she knew right away what it was, but she remembered.

* * *

><p>"<em>Sir. Remember when I turned fourteen last month, and you told me to wait for my gift in the next month? Well, it's the next month. Sir-" She walked into the man's desk cell and saw a few other people panicking and crouched around him on the floor. She walked closer and saw that he had a large gash in his chest. "What happened to him? Who did this? Somebody do someth-!"<em>

_One of the men, who were trying to stop the blood from flowing out of his chest, went to cover her mouth. He hissed at her in a whisper. "Shhh! He's out for you too. You need to leave. We'll take care of this. Just do what you can to leave. Make sure nobody sees you-"_

"_Come… over… here... girl-ly" The Captain waved for her to be brought to him. The other man took his bloodied hand off of her face and nodded towards the girl. She wiped the blood off her mouth and everyone gave her space as she knelt to him, letting tears fall freely off her face on the old man's wounds. "W-what is i-it?"_

"_Take this… talisman…" He coughed some and blood seeped out from the corner of his mouth. "One day, it will… h-help you…" He took the necklace off from around his neck and stuffed it into her hand. His fingers were cold. "I-it would have been the wh-whole band and the camp t-to command… as a bequest… but this will have to do… Heh heh heh… Mai..." His eyes were still open when she felt the stillness from him._

_She cried harder; he never called her by the name. After hearing say it, she held on to him. She didn't let go, even when everyone was trying to pry her away. She probably would have stayed there but one person reminded her, "You will die too if you do not leave. The girls threw whatever they could into this, food and whatever. Now go!" He gave Jade a satchel and shoved her away._

_The Captain and almost everybody had a soft spot for her._

_She got ready to run but she turned back around. "Who did this?" The man stared back at her with a look like she should know. _

_"Bazba."_

_Bazba was the man who brought her there, who 'punished' her for nothing. The person who she hated; she never had hate for anybody as much as she did for him. "That evil-" she stopped herself and looked around._

_Everybody there was evil. Wherever they went, they'd come back with blood stained onto their shirts, with looks in their eyes as if they had done the right thing. These women would satisfy them, too. _

_I-I am so stupid! How could I have forgotten? I would have been part of this. I would have been in charge of this._

_She had been so used to it, that she forgot what they had been doing was wrong. __And with that, she ran. And ran. And ran. Away from the gross encampment she called home._

* * *

><p>She realized that over time she began to forget her childhood; everything and everybody. No clue or anything to help her with her past. The earliest that she could remember was when she ended up in the old man's desk cell.<p>

She put the amulet back at the bottom of the bag and resumed packing.

When she was done, she began getting herself ready.

* * *

><p>She was standing in front of the mirror and blew her bangs out of her eyes, remembering Cyrez's advice.<p>

_When you're in your stance, with both hands on your sword, you have 'no' room to let go and move your hair. So I want you to start blowing your bangs up and to the side. I think it should have more hand energy to fight instead of having it wasted from moving hair out of your face and it'll probably help you to keep your focus on whomever. So from now on, that's what you'll start doing…_

She saw herself and smiled. She had grown up a lot since when she first set foot in that village.

As an end result, Jade had her thick hair tied and out of her face. She had on her regular long-sleeve and pants. But the most special thing she had on was guard armor. It covered her wielding shoulder and both sides of her neck, strapped under her free arm. The second piece was a guard for her opposite thigh that belted around her waist. It was simple but it had been Cyrez's from when he was a mercenary, and since he was more built that she was, Cyrez had it fitted for her and gave it to her as a gift when he began teaching her how to fight. She grabbed her iron blade, that was in its' case, tying the strap to her hip. She finished off with a pair of light weighted and sturdy boots. Jade took a piece of paper and began writing on it.

She placed the piece of paper neatly on her bed, grabbed her satchel and went out her window. She snuck behind houses to get to the gate and noticed that everybody was rushing.

_Is this what war does to people? I'm going to miss everyone._

"Good bye. Be safe," she whispered, and was out of there. She began treading up the hill and soon heard Cyrez from a far. "Jade! Jade! Do you know where she went? Jade!" She sprinted behind the tree at the top and waited, peeking around every other second. She saw him come out of the gate and look side to side franticly. He looked up at the tree and she couldn't tell if he saw her or not, but he ran back into the entrance.

She waited a few minutes and saw him set things far off against the outside wall. She waited almost five minutes before deciding to see what he left. When she came close enough to see, she saw that there was a pair gloves, another bag, a small knife with a very intricate case, three large, blue vials and a note. The first part of the note read:

_The knife is from the clandestine, as you can tell, be sure to wear that inside the boot. It'll be convenient. You've seen the elixirs before . Either drink or put it on the injury. Don't waste it. I put, hopefully, enough food in the bag. There's also money in the bag, but not a lot; carrying around too much can be dangerous._

When she began reading the next part, her eyes began to sting.

_Jade,_

_Aside from that, I was never upset with you. It just caught me off guard. You keeping that from me was big, but who am I to talk to you about secret. I own a shop. You've always made me proud. You were like a daughter, in fact, to me, you were my daughter. If you feel that this is what you have to do, then I support you because I know I've taught you well. Protect yourself. When it's all over, be sure to come back and visit. And at that time, you can tell me why you did the things that you did. Come bake in one piece. Remember us. Remember me. And yes, I saw you behind the tree. I've told you before, if you're going to do something, make sure you do it right._

_Cyrez_

She did as the note told her to do and got to the top of the hill. As soon as she did she turned around once more to see the hamlet. "So long, Papa..."

Jade began walking, not really knowing where she was going and she walked a short distance until she found a clearing. She decided to take a rest and ponder over what had happened. She closed her eyes as she lay on her side.

* * *

><p>When she opened her eyes, the sun had already set.<p>

"How long were my eyes closed? I must have fallen asleep… This is just pathetic. I don't even know where to go… And I'm all alone…" Just then, she heard something. She rolled onto her stomach and silently pulled out her sword. She began squirming herself to where the sound was coming from.

She found herself closer than she thought because the old man's voice was right in front of her. "H-help, please, somebo-body." She lifted her head up slowly and with the help of the moon's light, she saw an old man with deep wounds, dragging himself on the ground.

_You can't trust a lot of people out there…_

Cyrez's words were swirling in her head, but she couldn't ignore the man. She got on her feet cautiously and slowly approached him. She propped him against a near tree. "The t-torch," he faltered. He gesture for her to reach for the torch that was at his side. She lit it, and winced when looking at the man. The old man's face was worse than what it seemed like in the dark. Bruises and deep gashes covered him.

"What happened? Here, I have something-" as she was reaching for an elixir, he put his hand on her wrist to stop her.

"No. You'll waste it on me. Take this. It's an angeli-"

"An angelic robe." She had seen them in the store before. He ignored what she said and began to take off the mantle. She felt it as he used his energy to wrap her. It light, yet very thick fabric. Jade felt a surge of energy course through her.

"I am C-councilman Agobard. You need to stop that corrupted man, P-Pablo. Stop him before he kills Coun-silman Klimt." He was pushing out his words with the last of his breath.

"He's a councilman, too. But why is he-?"

"He's having us murdered for not s-siding with Grado. I was t-to be mur-dered on his command. Y-you must stop h-him… A-and please… just l-leave me here…" He closed his eyes slowly, and Jade knew he was gone.

She kissed his forehead, gathered all her possession and left to the direction he came from."I'll do it. I'll stop him."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Please review!


	4. Blair Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: The people, places, and things you recognize, I don't own. They belong to Intelligent Systems and Nintendo.

**And all my thanks go to Tom-Ato13 for proofreading this!**

So enjoy!

. . .

She was in the cabin deck of the ship. Lying down with her hands behind her head in a hammock, remembering how she got to be there in the first place.

_Why am I even here?_"…That's right… Five years already past and I'm not even looking for you anymore… I'm such a letdown," she closed her eyes from the flickering flame of the candle that was placed beside her. "I miss you dad."

* * *

><p><em>5 Years Ago<em>

It had been six month since her father left and now Blair was getting anxious. He was rarely gone for more than that period of time, so she knew that that month was the month he'd be back. It was now close to the end of the month when she received a knock on the door. Too excited to check on whom it was, she swung open the door.

"Welcome home da-!Oh… Uh, hi Thomas and Angeles. I thought you were..." She cleared her throat and shook her head. "So, what brings you here?" The two would usually knock early in the morning for her to train or at night to eat. So their showing up at her door caught her off guard.

"Blair." He didn't even look at her when he said her name and Angeles started sniffling. She didn't notice this before but Angeles's eyes were red and puffy.

"Yes? What's wrong? Angeles, what's the matter?"

He continued as if she didn't say anything. "The merc-band came back today. Not everyone made it back… A lot didn't, matter of fact."

It took her a while to process what he had said. "A lot of them _didn't_ make it back?"

"Correct."

"Well, what about…Did he make it? Where is he?"

"No your father didn't."

"…Is he dead?"Thomas didn't answer right away which caused her to raise her voice. "Tell me!"

"No. Dak's not dead-or we don't know for sure-but he is missing." Thomas was the only one who called her father by his first name.

"Missing…But how? Why? What about the crew?" That's all that she could think of with the news bombarding her thoughts.

"They're going on another assignment in about a week."

"How many members are there left?"

"Less than half. The team was already small to begin with, so they're desperate for more members, but-"

"I'll join." Thomas was taken aback by what she said and just stared at her. "I can't keep relying on anyone anymore. You can try to stop me, you too Angeles, but I won't… And maybe since Dad is lost, I can try to find him. Wasn't this the reason why everyone started teaching me in the first place? I know that's why dad did." The two grown-ups looked at each other and slipped small smiles of approval onto their faces.

"We understand. We won't stop you if you want this. But being a mercenary, it's serious. Sometimes you would have do things that you would never think of doing. Money is the most important thing out there. To everybody. You will have to kill to survive and you need to protect yourself first and always. Which reminds me," he pulled from his hip an ax. "A crew member found it on the ground and knew exactly whose it was." It was still covered, just like how it was before he left. When he handed it to her, she held it like a mother would hold her newborn. She stared at it for a long time, taking in the memories she had of them when he was with her.

She started slowly."…But what about my home and everything else?"

"If you want us too, Angeles and I can live here for you. We'll keep watch of everything until you get back."

"Yes, we can do that! We didn't really like our home to begin with because I've always adored this house!"

Blair shifted her eyes to both of them, smiling. She nearly pushed them over when she hugged them. "I love you guys. You're like my second parents, you know?" tears fell down her face. After a while, Angeles managed to separate from Blair's grip and held out a gold necklace to her. She looked at it wide-eyed. "What's that?"

Angeles put it on Blair. "It was your mother's. She wanted me to give it to you, but your father wanted to wait until you were older, scared that you might lose it. And I was going to give it to you as a present when you turn eighteen, the same time she received it, but I think now is a better time. You've grown into quite the woman that I'm sure your mother would have been proud of. Your father, I know he is for sure. Let's just hope everything goes for the best. We'll be rooting for you and your father's homecoming."

* * *

><p>For the whole week, Blair's training intensified, since it was her last time to learn anything from Thomas. Her training from before was always hard, but this time it lasted the whole day, every day. That week ended and now she had to go to an inn to meet a crew member of her father's, to start her first job.<p>

She stepped inside and noticed that the place was filled. People were either drinking themselves drunk or laughing and telling stories that didn't even made sense. A person was playing a piano but it could barely be heard from all the noise. There was nothing but men.

As she walked on to get to the back, somebody stopped her. "No skirts allowed," she pulled at the hem of her skirt, feeling somewhat self-conscious thinking that it was a bit too short, and ignored the man. Blair was about to keep walking but he put his hand on her shoulder. "I said 'no girls allowed.' So that means you-"

She pushed his hand off her. "Don't touch me." He grabbed the collar of her shirt and when she glared at him, he let go. He was muscular, tall, and had a few scars all over, almost intimidating, but her mind was too clouded to be caring.

"You're Rhodes'girl, aren't you?" her looks were very distinct in that area. And since many people knew who her father was, they could somewhat pick out his features from her. They respecting him and did the same for her. "I'm sorry, I had no idea. But girls really aren't supposed to be in here."

"I don't think I'll be bothering people. And I'm not going to drink or anything. I'm to wait for a crew member here for a job."

"So you're going taking your father's place, huh? And at such an age too. It's a shame that he's gone missing. Good luck out there. And try to stay away from the drunks."she nodded and resumed walking. Her father was a hero to the villages there and probably to places he traveled to too, which was almost everywhere east of the continent.

Blair reached the bar area in the back and turned around to face the door. I must be early. She felt a nudge at her shoulder and turned. "Hey, go get me some more ale from that keg." A man was pushing his mug at her and the keg was on the other end of the bar. He was talking to another person who had long red hair, covering half of his face and was wearing a black hat.

"No. Get it yourself." The man turned to her and the other guys looked as well.

"I said get me more ale." He pushed the mug at her again.

"Fine, have a drink!" and she grabbed a filled mug that was beside her and splashed it in his face. He got up fast and pushed her hard against the wall, pinning her left shoulder with his right hand and her right wrist with his left. "You can't touch me! I'm-"

"I could care less, sweetheart."

"Why, you!" she tried to lunge at him, but it only made him push her some more. "Get off of me!"

"Ah, so you want to be a tough girl, huh? You even have an ax to pull it off too. Hah- Wait…" he stopped and stared at her for a few seconds and grinned. "I've never seen a girl as fresh and young looking as you. How old are you anyway? Eighteen? Nineteen?"His face was so close that their noses were almost touching. Blair knew that he was trying to get her to blush which made her furious.

She jerked herself but that did nothing. "I don't need to tell you."

"Well you're going to need to soon, or else I'm going to do something to you. And in my defense, you didn't say anything. Heh heh. You look young but it's impossible for a girl to have a figure like yours." He was looking her over with hungry eyes.

Gritting her teeth, she answered. "F-fif-teen… Now get off of me!" She could barely be heard because then a group of men laughed at something they were talking about at the same time. His tawny eyes looked somewhat displeased. She was trying to reach for her ax with her left hand but couldn't quite get it. He noticed this then grabbed her hand and pinned it to the wall with his right knee. He used his now free hand to stroke a lock of her hair.

"Now that's a shame you are just a girl. A girl in a woman's body. But I don't think fifteen is that young nor do I think a little kiss would ruin your innocence. How 'bout we pretend you're as old as you look, for if you do feel uncomfortable. But I doubt that," she closed her eyes tight, pursed her lip together, and turned her face to the side. He grabbed her chin anyway and turned her face towards him. She opened her eyes. "Heh, am I frightening you, doll?"He was bringing his face closer, and then something stopped him. They both turned their heads to the red-head he was talking to earlier. She noticed that he looked younger than the one who was pinning her "What Joshua? I'm in the middle of something."

"That's enough Caellach. Leave the girl alone now."

"Ha. I'm almost done."

"No, Caellach."

"You know what, how about you flip your coin thing and let's see if I can finish what I've started. I call heads." He looked back at Blair with an evil grin plastered on his face. The red-head nodded once and looked at Blair. He tossed the coin into the air, turned his crimson eyes on it. The coin flipped once… twice… the third time it landed in his hand. He looked back at Blair and smirked. She felt her heart stop. _No. Out of all the times I could have lost at something…_

"Aw… Sorry Caellach. It's tails. C'mon we need to leave anyway." She felt a wave of relief flood through her.

He narrowed his eyes back at Blair and whispered. "Maybe next time, sweetheart. And at that next time, leave your hair down and wear your skirt shorter," he brushed his hand against her knee before let go of her disdainfully. He walked up to the red-head. "Sometimes I wish you weren't a seventeen-year-old with morals Joshua. Couldn't you see I was having some fun?" He headed out of the inn.

The red-head turned toward Blair, who was breathing hard. "If you didn't… he would've…" she looked at her boots and cleared her throat, trying to get back to sound mean, but failed because she was too shaken. "T-thanks…"

"No problem. And I should be sorry actually."

"Why? That creep did it, not you."

"Yeah, but I should have stepped in sooner. I should have known he'd get like that, with the way you threw that drink in his face. Anyway, I should probably get going, before Caellach does another stupid thing, and decides to mess with someone who can actually reach their axe." He gave her a wink and put a couple of coins on the counter before following out like the first one.

_Joshua, hmm…Yeah, you should be sorry. My heart stopped and I could've died right there._ She stared at the direction even after he left. She dropped her gaze and looked at the rest of the people.

From the looks of it, nobody seemed to have noticed what had happened. She wanted to punch every one of them, but decided that she didn't want to get involve with anyone else.

"Blair?" Looking up, she saw a familiar face. It was the crew member who told her father that they were going to be left if he didn't hurry from the six months ago. _I should've stalled longer, and then maybe I wouldn't have to be here._

"You look pale. Something happened?" she shook her head no. "Okay, well, we need to get a move on. I trust that you know what you're getting yourself into. This, I'm assuming, is close to like war. Thomas said you were skilled with the ax, said you were better than some of the people who has been doing it for lots of years and you only done this for six months. That's impressive but I don't know what it'll mean for you in the field. Let's get a move on. The employer's going to get impatient. I'll tell you about what the mission is on our way over there."

Raid the bandits who have been terrorizing the villages north of Jehanna and take their main base; that was their mission. They were outstripped three to one, the odds of winning seemed visibly impossible, but with the help of Lady Luck and strategic minds of all the members, they succeeded. But the toll of achieving that assignment was the lives of more members. But despite those losses, they showed interested employers that they would get the job done.

* * *

><p><em>1 Year After<em>

She still felt somewhat new to the mercenary work, killing for money, but she got over it quick. Money was money, and that was her only way of getting it. She also thankful that they had to travel a lot; she felt like she was covering plenty of ground, but not enough to learn about what happened to her father. But after an incident, she was soon going to do way more than what she thought was possible.

On one assignment, they had to go close to the coast, further east of Jehanna. They had to travel far from where they were to get to the coast. She hadn't slept or got enough rest because when she had the chance to, she used that time to look for her father, and after she had to fight right away. They accomplished the mission by nightfall and fatigue was running over Blair. They had to look for a place to stay and the only inn was by the dock. Blair couldn't keep herself up but she kept walking, sleepwalking. She ended up walking onto a ship, found the nearest empty room and crashed.

The next afternoon she woke up feeling sick, in the middle of the ocean, and was with a large crew of pirates. This came as a shock to her, so reached for her ax to fight but instead held onto her stomach and mouth and sprinted to the side of the boat. Her stomach protested to anything so she ended up with half of her body over the railing, hurling out her insides. A man placed himself besides her on the railing and began talking.

"I saw ya in that little scuffle yestaday. Pretty 'mark'ble how ya were the only female wit this," he tapped her ax. "Fact, ya were the only female. And ya guys won."

"So? What about it? It doesn't matter if-" she cut off herself to resume spewing out her insides and he just watched her. She groaned after to show that she was finished, and he began again.

"Where's ya crew ya were wit?"

She looked around the deck and saw unrecognizable faces; old ones and young ones. "I don't know…Where?" he seemed like he was playing a game. She swayed her head side-to-side, not able to focus properly.

"I don't see 'em'round hea. D'ya leave 'em?" she stopped her swaying and thought about everything that happened the night before. We finished the battle at nighttime, and we're looking for an inn, and I fell asleep in my room. She was going that over and over in her head, then she thought of something that could be why she was there.

"You guys took me from my inn!" she drew her ax from her hip and pointed it at the man, sloppily."Either you bring me back to where you got me from or I'll make you fish food."The man chuckled and stepped about ten paces back. The other men around were getting their weapons ready but he just waved them off.

"To tell ya the truth, we're surprised at why ya even hea too. But if that's what ya think, then come at meh." She was already in her ready stance, but when she lifted her foot to charge, she fell onto her hands and knees; just like how she did when she first tried the lance. He just laughed at her.

"Ha ha! Sick from the swayzin' of the boat? Ha ha ha ha! Here, someone get her a seat and bring a bucket," when they propped her on a sack and placed a bucket on her legs, the man sat on the sack next to her and began. "My name is Tank. Capt'n Tank. Ya's?"

"B-Blair." she tugged at the hem of her skirt when she noticed everybody staring at her.

"Well how's 'bout joinin' us in our workin'? Ya might as well 'cause we're not goin' back to Jehanna an' time soon. We got other work in Grado. But if ya want to go back, then ya gonna have to swim back." he handed her ax to her. She snatched it away and glared at him.

"If you want me to stay, then you're going to pay more," he looked around at the crew and nodded."Nobody touches me. And I mean nobody. I get my own space and… there are other things but I need to rest right now."

"'Kay. And ya gonna need to learn how to swim. This is the ocean, and we're surrounded by it. Ya soon gonna get used to the sickness. Ya get ya rest and afta, ya meet the crew. Ya have stuff like extra clothes and stuff?" all she could manage was a small nod. Blair couldn't stand being watched anymore so wobbled her way through the door that lead to the cabin deck and found the room that she was in, which was a large storage room that had supplies. She couldn't even function right, so she just dropped herself on the sacks that she slept on and passed out.

Over the next four years, Blair eventually got over seasickness once she was used to the rocking of the boat, and after nearly drowning from being thrown overboard by the unexpected tempests they encountered and being saved multiple times by shipmates, she learned how to swim. She knew that they wouldn't hold back on her because she was a girl, so she did the tedious errands that everybody had to do, which meant scrubbing the decks, raising the masts, polishing the weapons, and sometims even cooking. She showed the crew how tough she was when a member tried to exploit her, and Blair didn't hesitate to knock him out. She did receive a stern lecture from Captain Tank, but nobody messed with her after that. She soon picked up the teams' fight skills, and it wasn't long before she became one of the best fighters in the entire crew. Blair loved the smell and the feel of the salty breezes, the scenic sunrises and sunsets, and the vast array of wildlife she could see compared to the scorching heat and the never ending sand that she found in her homeland, Jehanna. But she was still nowhere near finding out what had happened to her father, as news about him was even harder to come by with the help of her new life as a seafarer.

* * *

><p><em>Back to Present<em>

She opened her eyes again. The crewmembers stayed in an inn, while she stayed in the ship to make sure that it wouldn't be taken. Because Grado started the war and there was also a "phantom ship" taking over the seas, Blair had been in that country for a month and she was stuck in Taizel for work.

_As long as it doesn't spread to Jehanna while I'm still here, then I could care less about it._ This got her thinking a while.

She got up and headed over to the inn that the members were in. Even though it was late at night, past midnight even, they were most likely up drinking or were being entertained by the 'local' girls. She adjusted her bandana before walking in. Just like how she thought, her associates were predictable. It wasn't as full as it usually was but it was just as loud. They were singing songs, clashing mugs together, laughing and talking.

A few of the girls who saw her rolled their eyes. They were jealous of Blair, because where ever she went she was the heartthrob for most of the males; she didn't care for the girls or the love struck guys, though. She continued her way to Tank who was drinking by himself but as soon as she did, two girls intercepted her way.

"Let's talk Tank! We haven't done that in a while!" They both shifted their heads to smirk at Blair and went back to their annoying high-pitched voices.

"Oh, Tank! Look how strong you've gotten! I think it's because you're the best ax-user out there!"Blair's eyebrow twitched. She wasn't one to boast, but if there was anything, it would be her skill with the ax. And the whole crew knew that, too.

They went on schmoozing his ear off, doing whatever they could to sound goody.

_Ew… He's more than twenty years older than them and they're like my age. And are they purposely talking like that to get on my nerves?_

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. Since they were both in her way, she pulled her ax and held it close to her face. She used her free hand to gently shove them apart. They turned their heads to glare at her but stopped once they caught sight of her weapon she was waving.

And with the same way they were talking and with a more sarcastic tone, she began. "Hya girls! UncleTank seems like he's busy, so how about we talk? Yeah, we should do that! Doesn't that seem like fun? And I can tell you all the killings I've done with this ax! Oh! And don't worry, that's how Tank got so strong!" They shared frightened glances at each other and hurried away. She chuckled to herself and tapped on Tank's shoulder. "Hey Tank? I need to talk ta ya."

"I wanted to talk wit 'em. Ha! Oh well, those annoyin' girls, " He was tipsy and she was going to use this as an advantage. "'Kay. Come sit. Want something to drink?"

"I prefer to stand. And yeah, give me one of those," he got up, and came back with another mug. She drank from the cup and felt relaxed once she felt the warm feeling in her stomach. She noticed many pairs of eyes staring at her as she took effortless gulps from it.

When they were sailing, they had lots of free time so they played drinking games; Blair found her limits the first game, which seemed like a few gallons to her, and after that she never tried passing them. _If Angeles saw me now, I would be dead._ Angeles didn't mind the fighting, but if there was anything that she hated, it was heavy drinking.

She continued on to what she was saying earlier. "I want to go back to Jehanna."

"We can't do that. Ya heard 'bout that 'phantom ship'? Says that once yer out there, ya neva come back."

She put her hand on the table. "Did you just hear yerself? You're the one who says nothing stops us from sailing. And you also said that you owe me a favor since I saved yer life. So I want to use that favor now."

"I said that, huh?'Kay. But, if we die, it'll be 'cause of ya."

She used a sarcastic tone to answer him back. "Okay, and I'll remember that when we're dead."

"Ha ha! So when ya want to go?" He drank some more.

"Tomorrow. I don't care when tomorrow, but it has to be tomorrow."

"Bwa ha! If that's what ya want, then we'll do it. But I don't owe ya no more favors afta this."She smiled, chugged the rest of her drink and headed out back to the ship.

_Tomorrow, you be ready Jehanna, because I'll be coming home._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Review please.


	5. Jade Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the recognizable characters and stuff. Duh.

**Thanks go to Tom-Ato13 for proofreading this chapter!**

Enjoy!

. . .

Now that the sun had been up, she was tired. She had been walking through the whole night and she decided not to stop until she reached a close spot near Teraz Plateau, but she couldn't. She didn't know how far or close she was to it nor did she know that there were going to be many inclines and declines in her way. It was definitely rockier the farther east she went.

She looked to both her sides to see if there was a spot she could rest at and when she did, something was shining in her eyes, blinding her. She squinted her eyes enough to ignore the shine and was able to see where it was coming from. Jade's eyes lit up once she realized that it was a small body of water. Jade took out her canteen as hurried off the boulders to the small stream. "Finally…"

Dropped to her hands and knees and just observed the water she was about to drink. It was clear; any usual impurities weren't seen, probably settled at the bottom or were washing away. Slowly, she cupped her hands together and watched as the water filled her hands. Jade brought her hands to her face, getting ready to drink, but stopped once she saw her reflection.

_I look like a boy…_

The robe she was wearing was covering up her body, her braids were tucked in, and there was sweat streaks easily seen through the small spots of dirt on her face. At first, it may seem like she looked like a boy, but anyone unmistakably would know she was a girl.

Jade pushed all thoughts away and began chugging it. She filled her water skin when she was done. Letting out a huge sigh before leaning against a rock, she undid her sword from her back and placed it a little bit behind her.

_What did I get myself into? Councilman Agobard… I don't even know how I'm going to do this. How did he even travel in that condition and make it to me, while I barely can._

She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

_I can't fall asleep again. When I stop humming, I'll start…_

Jade began humming a song that she remembered Cyrez singing a few times. It was about an old merchant and his lifestyle but she forgot what the words were.

She hummed loudly and repeated it over and over again, until she heard a small crumble. She lifted her head quickly and looked around. Nothing, just a few pebbles tumbling down the crag she was at the bottom of.

_Must have been the wind… Or was it…_

Jade looked around once more, slower and carefully this time. And just like before she saw nothing and hesitantly closed her eyes, still not sure if her assumption was right. She began humming again but this time it was a different song. It was a simple tune and like the other song, she didn't know the words. But one thing about it was that it was with her before she met Cyrez.

She hummed almost as loud as the first one, but it was somewhat softer.

While she was humming, she heard another crumble.

_There's no wind blowing. I don't think I'm alone…_

After the third time of hearing rocks tumble, she opened her eyes, but continued the tune. Jade purposely stretched both arms so her right hand would come out of the sleeve, and she set it on her left hip so it could be closer to her sword. She counted in her head.

_3… 2… 1!_

In a swift movement, she turned her body and her head to face people at the top. She reached for her sword and held it in front of her, not taking her eyes off them. There were probably about ten people.

"I think it would easier if you fought with a weapon."

Jade didn't know which of them said that, but when she looked at her hands that were clamped together, she saw no blade.

_Wha- Where did it go?_

She looked down and saw nothing. She felt as if her eyes were deceiving her, so she fell to her knees and felt around frantically.

_It has to be here. I set it down right here!_

She looked up every so often so see if they were moving closer, but they were just watching, a few people snickering. After a few more seconds of looking for the blade that wasn't there, she got up. When she did, she was thinking whether she should run away from the embarrassment of losing her only sword or fight with her pitiful paring knife she had in her boot.

_Running away seems easier._

Jade took some steps back, but then lost her footing and fell into the little water. Her braids fell out of the mantle as it spread open and water splashed everywhere. Her eyes were closed for a few seconds so she didn't really know who was talking.

"Hey, that's a girl!" The voice of a boy.

"And she's a real beauty, too." That was a female's voice.

"That explains why the humming sounded more, er, feminine," A man's voice. "For a second, I thought that was a boy. Probably was the attire; it's a little less than female, wouldn't you say?"

Jade's cheeks were turning red, once she heard what they were saying. She was also getting embarrassed from the situation. One, she was doing exactly the opposite of what Cyrez had taught her, two, they thought she was a boy (but then again, couldn't blame them because she thought she looked like one too), and three, she fell right into the water and she was soaked. She saw that they were still talking and so she, in about two steps, got out of the stream swiped her two satchels and ran.

She heard the younger boy's voice call out to her. "Hey! You don't need to run!" She kept running.

The woman called out to. "Ewan! Don't do that…" She felt that she was getting father because their voices were fading.

Then out of nowhere, a ball of fire landed in front of her. She stumbled backward into someone, and whoever it was put a hand onto her shoulder. Turning just her head around fast to see who she was in front of, and froze once she saw a man with a large scar across his face and green hair holding onto her. His voice was firm. "There's no need to run. We only need to talk to you for a second," his voice was the man who thought she was a boy.

As a reaction, Jade held onto his hand that was on her shoulder and threw her head back hard, hoping to get his face. _Thunk_! She felt her head hit onto metal. "Ow… M-my head… it hurts…"

"Well, what did you expect when you threw your head back? And you even managed to make a dent into my armor."

"Let… go…" She was cupping the part of her head where she slammed.

"You're the one who grabbed onto me. Look, don't worry, we're not the going to hurt you… Well, that blast was an accident. He was only trying to stop you-"

She interrupted him. "He was only trying to stop me from _what_? Living?"

That made him chuckle a bit. He somewhat reminded her Cyrez, but he was much younger than him. "That blast can give quite a burn, but not enough to turn you into ashes with one hit… H-hey! Enough of that! I don't want to have to hurt you," Now, the fighting instincts that Cyrez had taught her before, was setting in. She made attempts to hit him and in turn he dodged each of them. Jade felt like she was being beat at her own game. "Look, stop struggling or else I'll _have_ to hurt you."

This went on for a few more seconds and finally he grabbed onto her wrist and turned her around to face another person and she stopped. He gave out a sigh of relief once she did. "Here, Prince." This other person had a silver bow in hand and his clothing looked more luxurious than the people were around them. He looked about her age, maybe a little bit older, but he looked so memorable…

"I know you…" her voice was softer now, close to a whisper. Jade lifted her hand a few inches from her side, wanting to touch his face, but she shook her head and stuck her hand back in place. She looked at her feet. "Never mind. No, I don't."

She opened her eyes wide once she realized that the man was distracted. With her free hand, she gave a swift and powerful blow to the man then held onto her. When he stumbled back a bit, she scooped up her bags, along with a fist-sized rock, and ran. She heard a sling from behind, and at the same time she tripped and staggered to the side just in time before seeing a silver arrow whiz past her. Once she caught her balance, she went sprinting again and this time, with as much force as she could, she threw the rock at a cluster of boulders that were supported by a long twig at the top. Almost instantly, after running past, they tumbled down, cutting off the path between her and the group of people.

A smile of accomplishment spread across Jade's face as she fled, but soon ended when an arrow pierce through the right side of her back. She gave out a cry but kept on running. In less than a moment, a large shadow flew over her and she ran into a white pegasus. Its wings were spread open and it was neighing at a high-pitched range. It stood up on its hind legs, almost as if it was going to trample her. She fell on her back which pushed the arrow right through her and gave out another yelp. She looked at it and came out through her stomach; it pierced her at an angle.

She saw someone jump off from the pegasi but that didn't matter to her. She ripped the arrow out from her, which made pain worse because having her innards that was surrounding it had been tugged and pulled by the metal fletching. Jade was afraid to see if any of her guts got stuck to it, so she threw it to the side. The only thing that she could think was how much it hurt; saying it over and over in her mind. She held onto her stomach, wanting to close the opening.

_It hurts. I should have just left that stupid arrow alone… This is nothing compared to the training._

Jade could feel a pool of blood begin to form around her. She looked around for something, anything, to help the pain or at least stop the flow of the dark crimson liquid. Her eyes stopped on an elixir that was arm's length to her left. She reached for it, but a boot stepped on her wrist to stop her. "No, wait! I need that!" She looked up and saw the sniper again.

She tried to pull her hand back, but the more she did, the more he'd put pressure on it and the more she could feel her wrist being cut by the jagged rocks under it. He put another arrow into the bow and pulled it a little while pointed at her. "You would be wise not to move your other hand."

Jade put up her free hand to show that she wasn't going to do anything. "I'm not-I don't have anything! Anything th-that you'd want, I don't have it!" She was starting to panic now, looking back and forth at the weapon that was pointed at her and the person.

"What of that mercenary armor and that mantle? And why were you running then? Clearly, if you didn't have anything to hide then you wouldn't be running, now would you?"

"If you were surrounded, wouldn't you run too?"

He lowered his arrow by a little bit and scoffed. "Run? The Prince of Frelia would do no such obscenity." He kept his eyes on her but directed his voice to the pegasus knight. "Go wait with the others. Tell them they can stop holding their breaths."

Whoever it was, hesitated somewhat but complied. "Yes, Prince Innes." That was said with a quick nod and the knight and the pegasus was in the air.

"What?" She gave him a quizzical look. "Who are you?"

"I am Innes, Prince of Frelia." he announced.

It was getting a little bit difficult for her keep a steady breathing pattern now. "A prince? But I-I thought Frelia…"

"That tune from earlier, that you were humming disturbingly loud, where did you hear it from?"

_Was I that loud? _Jade pushed that thought away and frowned at him. "I can't tell you."

"… You _are_ to tell me -"

"I can't tell you because I don't know!" Tears began falling. The pain was getting worse and she was scared. The pool of blood was reaching to her neck so she put her hand back onto her side, trying to cover the both of the punctures. "I-I only remember it from when I was… a little girl... Now please, that vial. I need it… Teraz Plateau… I need to save…" She couldn't finish her thought. Her sight was getting hazy and her eye lids were starting to fall.

He lowered his arrow and gave a confused stare. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by another voice. She eyes flew open once she heard it. _Maybe I'm saved…_

He pointed his arrow back at her and looked up. He rolled his eyes once he saw who it was and she saw this. _Nope._ The prince spoke. "I told you to stay with the others."

From what she remembered, it was the voice of the man she had punched earlier who answered. "Well, from her stunts earlier, I was thinking that you could use some help. But from the looks of it…"

"I don't need assistance from a sellsword…" She couldn't keep her eyes open anymore and now, she could only hear parts of what they were saying.

"… Prince, that's a lot of blood she's losing…"

"... Quick, go get the pegasus knight and the healer…"

As she was starting to see the black blank, Jade couldn't help but laugh in her mind. _It's funny... This reminds me of the time when Cyrez found me, minus this excruciating pain… Next thing I know, I'll wake up in a nice soft bed and have a platter of food waiting for me…_

No. Instead, Jade opened her eyes to an inside of a tent. She remembered what happened earlier and felt for the injury, but only touched wrappings. "What the… Bandages?" She touched some more and stopped as soon as she felt a slight sharp pain. She decided to sit up, but didn't realize how weak and dizzy she was until she fell back.

Somebody else was in there with her. "Oh, you're finally up," she gasped and tilted her head up to see who it was. It was the woman she remembered seeing with the group of people. Jade was surprised to see how vibrant her red hair was and the different kinds of gold jewelry along both her arms. Jade frowned at the outfit that the woman was wearing which was fitted and revealing, leaving little to the imagination, but then dismissed it. She continued. "I almost thought that you were still asleep until you looked up. You talk and move a lot in your sleep."

"…Who are you?"

"Tethys. And you?"

"…" She tilted her head back down. "It doesn't matter. Where are my clothes and things?"

"If you want to get acquainted with anybody, then exchanging names would be the best thing. Let's try that again," she moved around so that she was in front of Jade. "My name is Tethys. What's your name?" Jade avoided eye contact with her.

"… W-where's my stuff?" She timidly looked back Tethys, who just stared at her. Jade could see that the woman wasn't doing answer her if she didn't tell say her name. _Darn, I'm going nowhere with this._ In a whisper, she answered. "… Jade…"

Tethys turned her head to the side and cupped her hand behind her ear. "Hm? Come again."

In a more audible tone, she retorted. "Jade! N-now where are my things?" She could see Tethys beam.

"That wasn't so hard, was it? Well, we've confiscated everything."

"Is that why I'm almost naked?" She only had on a small pair of shorts that she had for underwear and the bandages that were wrapped around most of her torso.

She held out Jade's clothes. "We needed to take them off of you to have a better look at the injuries and so we could wash them. That beautiful mantle though, the arrow managed to miss it, so we only needed to patch the holes in your shirt. Oh, you're probably weak from that large amount of blood loss, so I can help you put your clothes on."

"No, I can do that myself."

"Fine. Oh, and when you're done Chief and the prince would like to see you…" Tethys stood up and watched as Jade was having difficulty sitting up. She shook her head and chuckled once she saw her fall back down.

Jade looked away, knowing that her face was reddened from having proved herself wrong. "I-I could use a little help though…"

"When we're done, you should walk some to wear off your lightheadedness. You've been asleep for the most of the day…"

"How are you doing?" She turned to the voice of the man. She realized that he had been the one who she tried fighting against. The armor he had on was similar to hers, pretty much everything he was wearing was close to hers except his shirt which showed off his extremely muscular arms.

_Must be an actual mercenary._ "… My head's pounding… and my side doesn't hurt as bad," she informed. Jade turned back around, and for some reason, she felt like the man was going to do exactly was Tethys had done; ask for her name and won't answer until she gave it. She felt like she could beat him to it. While still looking away, she stated her name. "Jade."

"Huh? Oh, Gerik."

She whipped around. "Gerik? As in the Desert Tiger?" She had heard of him from Cyrez, from the connections he had through the store. She admired him through the stories that Cyrez would tell.

"Some would know me as that…"

"I… I…" Her face expression started changing once she remembered what she had done. "I'm really sorry for punching you earlier! I-I thought that you people were with Grado because I heard that they started a war and… and… so tried to get away, but…"

"Whoa! Slow down," he commanded, putting his hands up trying to hush her. "Well, how about we ask you some questions to clear a few things up?" Standing and trying to explain herself was a toll on her body, so she gave a slow nod.

The group was getting ready for the evening. Some were getting the food ready, others were putting their sleeping mats down, and a few were conversing with each other. Jade noticed that everyone kept their distance from her, so she began walking around even after Gerik told her to sit by the fire and wait while he went off.

She heard talking fairly close to her and she wanted to know who was talking, so she began getting closer to the voices. To her surprise, it was the prince talking to a healer. "How was it? Was there much damage with her organs?" he asked, concern filled his voice. The healer just gestured for the prince to look behind him. Innes turned around, and from the look on his face his face, he seemed disturb by her presence. "What are you doing?" She flinched at the tone of his voice.

"I was just walking around… I'll leave..." She did know how she was supposed to end that, so she made a quick, small bow.

"Oh, excuse me miss," she looked to the healer. "How do you fare with the wound and your strength? May I examine how well the wound healed? We can go back to the…"

She shook her head. "It's fine." She lifted up her shirt just high enough to see the bandages. "I'm just feeling weak and kind of sore. And I think it's healing alright." She flicked her eyes to the prince for a split second, and saw that he furrowed his brow once he looked at the thick bundle around her stomach. She soon began to feel self-conscious and put her shirt down. She gave quick nod and went back to the small fire where she saw a person messing with it.

She approached him slowly, nervous that he might leave, and saw that he was looking over a tome. She saw that the cover was red. A_ fire tome, most likely._ She thought to herself. _He must have been the one… _

It wasn't long before he looked up and saw her. His face lit up and he waved at her. "Hi! I'm Ewan. I'm the student of the great sage, Saleh. And also, my sister is Tethys," he stated excitedly, but his enthusiasm soon changed to guilt. "And I'm really sorry for…"

"Nearly blasting me to ashes?" she finished casually, taking a seat next to him on the ground.

"I'm really sorry! When you started running, I thought you were going to disappear by how fast you were going, so I thought that…"

She waved at him to stop. "Usually I wouldn't accept that as true, but you kind of remind me of the little kids back in my village. I'm not a fan of fire, but it's fine. It didn't touch me, so I believe you."

"I'm not little. I'm fifteen," he insisted. She shrugged.

They heard another voice joining their party. "Well, I'm glad everybody is getting to know each other," they looked up to find Gerik talking and Tethys following behind. He turned his head back and began speaking. "And how about you join us, Prince? The food's almost ready." Jade looked up at Innes who was standing behind Gerik and Tethys, he gave a grave stare back to her.

"You're not to eat unless you answer all of our questions first." Everyone turned to Jade to see her reaction and only received a disappointed 'okay'.

_Jade was walking into a blank white nothing, very familiar. She had no idea how long she had been walking, but she couldn't stop. Finally, she saw a man. "Hey…" No reply. She cautiously got closer. "… What are you doing here?" He waved his hand suddenly and she couldn't move anymore; her body was paralyzed. "Why did you do that? Who are you?"_

_He then faced her and gave a smirk. "I know you! You tried to shoot when I was- Wait! P-Prince Innes?" He kept up his wicked smirk and drew an arrow back in his bow. She pleaded for him to stop, remembering the pain she had from it earlier. "Don't do it Prince! Look, you did this to me, remember?" She lifted up part of her shirt to show the bandages, but it wasn't there. It was too late to protest, he already let it go, and then…_

Jade opened her eyes and was breathing hard. She was almost happy not seeing white.

_I need to leave._ _The prince is going to kill me soon, I just know it. _

She sat up silently and tried looking around. It was dark, too dark for her to see anything, so she let her eyes adjust as much as it could before standing. As silent as she possible could, Jade began putting her armor. She remembered right before she set a spot to sleep, Gerik gave her things back, which included her blade that she thought she lost forever, and he told her that the team agreed to let her join them. It was Tethys who grabbed it when she was resting, and when some rocks would crumble, she would duck behind a few boulders so Jade wouldn't have seen her.

Once the metal had a snug fit around her, she put her sword case at her hip and slung her bags over her shoulder. By the time she was done, the sun was getting ready to rise from the horizon, but it was little help for her to see what was around.

"Okay," she whispered. "Sun rises in the east, sets in the west. Teraz Plateau is east, so that's where I'm going."

She took in a deep breath, remembering how vivid the dream was and how close it was to the one she had when she fourteen. Jade took a few steps forward, but then she tripped over something. As she hit the floor, she waited for her sword to 'clank' against the ground, but only heard moans of a person. Jade began to panic, the muffles were getting louder and whoever it was began struggling under her, so she covered the person's mouth. Her eyes widened once she realized who she was looking at.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Phew! Glad I got this chapter off of my chest. Don't have much to say... Reviews/ feedback appreciated.

And this has nothing to do with the story at all, but I heard this from somebody. It goes:

The grasshopper is always greener on the other side of the gopher hole… Wait, that's not right…


	6. Blair Chapter 3

**Thank you Tom-Ato13 for proofreading this chapter! I know that if you didn't, well, I'd be screwed...**

Enjoy!

. . .

She woke up the next day to voices and footsteps outside of her room. There was little light shining through the small window in her room and she knew the sun was starting to rise. "Why at this ungodly hour are there _guests_?"

Blair stumbled out of the hammock and fell on her shoulder with a loud thud. She began massaging it but quickly began moving, afraid that the intruders had heard her.

Blair tugged her skirt down which rode up during her sleep and struggled to put on the belts she used for hooking axes and other items to her hip. She picked up a long chain and attached the end to connect with link bracelet on her wrist and on the other end had a newly sharpened hand axe latched on.

Blair unlocked her door and carefully listened to see where they were. The voices were coming from the ship's supply room. She shook her head, "Dead end."

She tiptoed to the room that they were in and hid behind the wall beside the opened door. They were talking quieter than before. But's it's already too late for them, she thought. Blair jumped into the room, ready to throw the axe. "...he said to move, ah- Dame! Blair! Wait!" She didn't lower her axe but she looked at their faces and scowled; they were three of her fellow crew mates holding sacks and crates.

"Get out!" she ordered.

One of them had enough backbone to talk back at her in the grumpy state she was in. "Yer supposed to be on watch."

"My job is to ensure the safety of the ship," she retorted. "I volunteered to do this, so I get to do it however I want. And lest you forget, _I_ have a spot in command." Blair then lowered her axe to her side and the others let out sighs of relief. She began to speak again "So what are ya fools doing here so early? I could've killed each of you."

"We know. Ya neared could've frightened off a ghost runnin' in like that," they still had to catch their breath. When one of them was calm enough, he spoke in a serious tone. "We're leavin' to..."

"I know and I almost forgot too," she interrupted. "To the wonderful dunes of Jehanna," she exclaimed with glory.

The three shipmates all shifted looks at each other before cracking up. "Ya think we're going to Jehanna?" one asked out through his laughing. She gave them all confused looks but when the laughing didn't die down after a while, she decided to get physical with them, because that always seemed like the _only_ way to get their attention.

Blair grabbed a crate out of one's hands and kicked him down. She threw the crate at the other two and put her foot on the chest of the grounded one.

"Next time," she began. "If I say something that you filths don't understand, then tell me ya don't understand. But if not, then I'll take this axe and aim it at your necks. And ya already know, I don't miss."

One cleared his throat, asking for permission to speak, and she nodded. "Don't know where ya got Jehanna from, but we're leaving to Frelia today. Captain Tankeron said the war is messing up business and..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he stopped when he heard Blair mumbling something to herself, faced away from them, and punched a nearby wall in frustration.

Blair stomped out of the room, bent on finding the Captain. "He better have a good explanation for this...To the likes of Frelia. Pathetic Frelia, they couldn't even watch over their kingdom."

* * *

><p>She reached out onto the deck and saw that most of the crew was getting ready to get on the ship. It was still early so everyone seemed like they were moping as they began carrying the crates. Blair walked up behind one of them and tugged slightly at the back of his sleeve. He turned his head around. "Aye?"<p>

"Where's Tank? I have something I need to talk over with him."

When she said this, he seemed to perk up. He thought about it for a few seconds and brought his face close to hers. She scooted her head back, scowling, but he put his hand behind her head and brought her closer so that she couldn't move back. He quickly looked around and then put his face to her ear and whispered, "Check the post."

Then he put his whole hand onto her face and gave a strong push. She stumbled back and held on to the rail to catch her balance. She wasn't in the mood to be messed with. Blair retracted her arm, readied her hand axe, but stopped short when she saw the Captain. Off into a far alley she saw him, glancing side to side cautiously, as he leaned an arm onto a post. Blair looked back at the crew mate who told her this; he was talking with another person. He gave her a quick glance and a small nod before continuing on with his conversation.

She stood on the railing then leaped over to the deck. Tank still hadn't moved but Blair noticed that there were a lot of villagers up and about as she made her way towards him.

She accidentally bumped into an elderly woman who nearly had a heart attack, but she couldn't tell what the woman was panicking about. Blair muttered an apology and quickly lifted the woman. After the woman ran away, Blair looked back to the post but no one was there. She ran down the alley confused, but just around the corner she saw him and another person.

This stranger was much shorter than her and was wearing a cloak with a hood that covered their whole body. The two were talking in a whisper and Blair just waited to see what was going to happen. Tank then took out a large pouch and held it out for the person. In a swift movement, the stranger took the hood off and reached for the pouch. It was a woman Blair had never seen around the town before, with pink hair in a ponytail and well-groomed all around. She opened the bag and examined what was inside. Once she approved of what she saw, she grinned, put it in her sack and took something else out. A hand-sized piece of metal with one side a beautiful emerald color, but the woman held it in a way that she couldn't really admire it anymore.

When Tank let the object fall into his hand, Blair finally came out of the hiding. The girl gasped and began running away and struggled to put her hood back on as Blair ran up to him. He stuck his arm out, assuming that she was going to chase after the girl. "What was that about?"

"Heh. Nothin' fer ya to werry 'bout, my deary. So let's say we head back to the wee lonely ship," he turned her around with one arm around her shoulder and headed out of the alley. The reached a long brick wall near the dock when he turned her around to face him. "Now that _chat_ me an' the lady had... the ol' crew don't need to her 'bout this, right?"

"Oh, sure," she agreed, nodding with a smile. "They won't hear about that little chat you... only if..."

"What?" His smile turned into a serious expression.

Blair adopted a similar expression, "You tell me the reason why you said that we're going to Frelia and you give the command to head to Jehanna."

A guffaw was heard from this. "Now I can do no such," he cut his laughing short and placed his hands onto her shoulders. She tried to push him away, trying to fight his grip off, but he shook her roughly. "I's got some businesses up in Frelia that can mean a haul of loot fer the crew. An' ya would want to end that happ'ness jus' to go to Jehanna, who's will already gon' be taken by Grado whens we get ther? An' 'sides, ya will finds much a variety in Frelia. What's ya say?"

"Ta hell with that!" A punch was throw; Blair's fist to his jaw.

"Why you-!" now instead on having his hands on her shoulders, he was nearly lifting her by her shirt collar. "Now, a gurl's like ya gotta stert doin' what a man tells 'em to, wench," he snarled. She let out the same laugh he had earlier and spat in his face.

He let go to wipe it off and she began walking away. Not even a few seconds went by when he pulled the back of her shirt hard, ripping part of it and throwing her to the ground. He took his axe off of his back a put the top concave curve onto her throat. "Listen here, dame," he knelt down next to her, with his hand still on the hilt. "We don't needs ya no more. Heh, a lady like ya, finally bein' put in her place."

"Does that mean that my place is below a man's? Below you?" she waited for him to answer, but nothing came. "You're a selfish coward." She placed her hand in through the gap between her neck and the axe, and pushed the axe off. They both stood up and she smoothed out her skirt. As she straightened her wrist cuff, Blair spoke with a calm voice. "You gave me part of everything to keep me in this, from half of the fortune to part command, and even part of the crew. I'm taking everything and I'm going to Jehanna."

"We'll see 'bout that. Take what's yers, but what's mine, the crew, they stay."

"Fine. But I promise that they won't be there to save you. No one will."

"What gives ya confidence in that?"

"Before me, and even when I wasn't around on the jobs, who was there to save you from those near-death experiences?" She smirked at him. She was right, they both knew that. The ship's company, everyone, they only cared for their own skins. Most of the work and jobs that they had was 'everyone for themselves' kind of work. No real strategy going on, just nonstop raid with power. "So long."

She made her way back to the ship to retrieve her belongings and noticed another ship had come to the dock.

"Did that just come from out there?" She looked over and saw a barrier of thick fog. She was too distracted to even recognize the mass of Grado soldiers who had come from her left. They were making a commotion on the Prince of Renais; either to capture or kill him, she did not know. From making her way to the dock, her shipmates began walking towards her, armed with their newly sharped weapons. "What's this for?"

"We might as well join into this lil scuff. And this ship that pulled in seems to be filled with pansies. Whadaya say? Ya gon' help in the raid?"

She shook her head and walked on pass to board the ship. Only a few members had stayed on the ship, they were armed too. "There's so many of them..." She turned around to see what they were staring at. Grado soldiers were marching en masse to their location.

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><p>"This is bad," She then turned to go to the lower bunkers where her room was at. "That's probably why everyone was scrambling and why Tank wanted to leave for Frelia. Damn liar." Blair reached her room and grabbed her father's steel axe. She would rarely use it, and when she did, she'd sharpen and buff it. She thought of it sort of like her lucky charm. She looked around at all of her possessions and knew that it all had to wait. She heard rustling around the boat and locked the door behind her before running back up to the deck. Blair couldn't help but scrunched her nose at an unnatural stench in the air. "What just ha-..."<p>

What she saw made the question die on her tongue. Decaying bodies and skeletons, moving. Fighting. Monsters, that was once from the tales people would tell their children to scare them, now join in the skirmish taking place. It was almost like an unreal dream. They seemed to work together with the Grado solders, attacking another group, which was probably the wanted prince's.

"Don't back up."

"What?" She hadn't realized that she was until Tank said that. Their backs were touching each other.

"I advise ya not ta turn 'round either. Run off this boat 'nd fight yer way through. 'Nd..."

"And what?" she demanded.

"'Nd yer gonna stay on this team when we get out this. I decided that ya can be useful to us fer a little bit more."

"Sure," she said sarcastically. "_If_ we get out. Everyone's scattered so there's a high chance that only one of us is going to be alive, which will definitely be me."

"Heh, whatev'r gets ya ta stay," He laughed. "How'd them things make it on this ship? The Goddess o' the Sea don't want anyone to leave this fersakin' port. Run now!" She didn't have to be told twice started sprinting away. She was at the small bridge of the ship when she heard Tank cry out. When Blair gave a quick look back, an immense amount of shock and fear ran through her and she stopped altogether.

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><p><strong>AN**: Sorry for the long wait! Please Review!


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